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Addition Of Walter Could Alter Pats' Backup Plan

FOXBOROUGH -- Sure, Kevin O’Connell and Brian Hoyer are football players. But they’re also human beings.

So when they heard the news Monday that fellow quarterback Matt Gutierrez had been released to make way for Andrew Walter, they were initially bummed. The Patriots’ quarterbacking fraternity is a small one, and any time there’s a change, there’s a sizable effect on the rest of the signal-callers.

Then, they moved on.

“It’s a business,” shrugged Hoyer after Tuesday morning practice at Gillette Stadium. “College isn’t as much of a business as this, but I remember at Michigan State, where every new kid was supposed to be the super-recruit. So you learn how to deal with that, especially at the quarterback position, because there can only be one of you out on the field. You just have to move on.

“The only thing I can control is how I go out there and perform, so that’s the only thing I’m concerned with. I just have to do the best I can and do my job.”

Viewed for so many years as nothing more than Tom Brady’s valet -- from 2001-08, Brady started 128 consecutive regular season and playoff games for the Patriots, good for the third longest all-time streak for a quarterback -- the job of New England’s backup quarterback took on sudden significance last season after Brady went down in the season-opener with a knee injury. After a slow start, Matt Cassel made the most of his shot last season, leading New England to an 11-5 mark and eventually parlaying it into a sweet new contract after a trade to Kansas City.

Currently, the Patriots’ backup quarterback job remains in a state of flux. Right now, the 24-year-old O’Connell is the No. 2 quarterback, but if Walter, 27, has a good preseason, there’s no reason to think the Arizona State product couldn’t push him for the role of primary backup. A rookie out of Michigan State, the 23-year-old Hoyer will likely start the season as a practice squadder.

The acquisition of a veteran backup -- even one with Walter’s woeful career numbers -- could reflect a level of concern for the relative inexperience behind Brady. O’Connell and Gutierrez had a combined seven career pass attempts as pros at the end of last season. Even though Walter, who respectfully declined to speak to the media Tuesday, has struggled at times and has just nine career starts, he does have more familiarity with the NFL game than both O’Connell and Gutierrez.

But O’Connell said earlier in camp he wasn’t shaken by all the talk of bringing in Michael Vick or Cleo Lemon. And he said Tuesday he feels the same way about Walter challenging for his job -- it’s just part of the business.

“That’s what it is. You’re trying to get better at every position all the time,” he said. “I’ve just been trying to come out here every day and do my thing and get better and learn and continue to grow and see where that takes me.”

In Walter’s first practice with the Patriots Tuesday morning, he certainly appeared to take a sizable chunk of reps from O’Connell. The same was the case in the Tuesday afternoon session, where Brady and Walter commanded the bulk of the time under center. If the situation continues, it could mean things have started to shift.

But as it stands right now, O’Connell doesn't sound worried.

“I think it’s just kind of a rotation of how they’re doing it with all four quarterbacks right now,” O’Connell said when asked about the decreased action on Tuesday. “There’s only so many reps to go around, and obviously Tom is going to be taking a lot of them. I don’t read much into it -- I just prepare to come out and practice, and whatever reps I get, I’m going to try and do the best I can.”

Through the first week of practice, Hoyer has also had limited reps, and he appeared to struggle at times. However, he had his moment in the sun at the end of practice Tuesday morning when he was asked to lead the offense on a two-point conversion attempt. If the defense gave up the points, they had to run a lap, and if the offense couldn’t punch it in, they had to run a lap. Hoyer found Joey Galloway in the end zone to complete the conversion, sending the offense into a frenzy.

“To come back and be put in that situation, with something on the line … sometimes you lose sight of it in camp where it’s just drill after drill,” Hoyer said. “But you put something on the line -- whoever loses is running -- it means something. And to come out on top is always good.

“Any time you're competing, it's fun,” he added. “As an athlete, we’re competitive, and you never want to lose. To do that, and send the defense running, it was fun.”

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